Celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Memory of the World Programme

UNESCO celebrates the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the MoW Programme from 27 October to 5 November 2022.

The 30^th anniversary of the Memory of the World Programme, will be celebrated in tandem with the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. As such, UNESCO embraces the theme: "Your Window to the World: Enlisting documentary heritage to promote inclusive, just and peaceful societies".

It takes its cue from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly SDG 16. SDG 16 seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” Target 16.10 aims to “ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.” 

In this respect, key issues that may define the celebration of the 30^th anniversary would include:

• Identifying documentary heritage, including that inscribed on national, regional and international registers of the MoW Programme, which promotes greater understanding and dialogue across cultures.
• Celebrating documentary heritage of marginalized groups, such as indigenous people. Member States that are a home to such groups could consider highlighting this aspect of their societies in order to promote inclusivity, thereby enhancing the possibility of just and peaceful co-existence.
• Highlighting the gender inequalities in access to, and usage of, documentary heritage across archives, libraries, museums, etc.
• Celebrating national world-significant documents that have had a phenomenal impact on a community, a culture, a country or humanity generally. Many examples abound, but the determination of these is left to Member States.
• Exploiting the educational value of documentary heritage to enrich existing curricula with under-utilized primary sources.
• Exploring how media and journalists can exploit the historical value of documentary heritage for contemporary reporting on issues of sustainable development.
• Celebrating national, regional and international documents that may be deemed as having contributed the most towards bringing about inclusive, just and peaceful societies in a particular national, regional or international context.
• Highlighting best practices on safeguarding documentary heritage at risk. 

There are many more aspects of this theme that can be exploited for maximum effect.

For the global celebration, an online-onsite symposium will be held at the UNESCO Headquarters, 10:00-12:30 in Paris, France, on 27 October 2022. 

Registration for online participation

Programme

Find out more in the Concept Note.

Update: A compilation of presentations and written speeches during the event is available here.